AEG17192 S.L.C.

S. ll
115TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

To support meeting our Nations growing cybersecurity workforce needs by

expanding the cybersecurity education pipeline.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll
Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on llllllllll

A BILL
To support meeting our Nations growing cybersecurity work-
force needs by expanding the cybersecurity education
pipeline.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the Cyber Scholarship Op-

5 portunities Act of 2017.
6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:

8 (1) A well-trained workforce is essential to
9 meeting the Nations growing cybersecurity needs.
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1 (2) A 2015 report by the National Academy of
2 Public Administration found that the United States
3 faces a severe shortage of properly trained and
4 equipped cybersecurity professionals.
5 (3) A 2015 study of the information security
6 workforce found that the information security work-
7 force shortfall is widening.
8 (4) The National Science Foundations
9 CyberCorps: Scholarship-for-Service program is a
10 successful effort to support capacity building in in-
11 stitutions of higher education and scholarships for
12 students to pursue cybersecurity careers.
13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

14 It is the sense of Congress that

15 (1) given the current need for cybersecurity
16 professionals in the public and private sectors, Con-
17 gress and the Federal Government should support
18 existing programs to boost their success;
19 (2) the Federal Government should also build
20 upon and develop existing programs to meet emerg-
21 ing challenges, such as the need to protect critical
22 infrastructure and the greater need for cybersecurity
23 professionals of various skill levels;
24 (3) there is a need for greater engagement with
25 students at the kindergarten through grade 12 level
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1 to recruit young people to pursue career paths in cy-
2 bersecurity;
3 (4) many community colleges offer degrees or
4 industry-recognized credentials in cybersecurity and
5 related fields that prepare students to fill high-de-
6 mand cybersecurity jobs, and the Federal Govern-
7 ment should support programs at 2-year institutions
8 of higher education that help students develop skills
9 necessary to support the Nations cybersecurity mis-
10 sions; and
11 (5) the Federal Government should expand ex-
12 isting programs to support re-training mid-career in-
13 dividuals, such as veterans of the Armed Forces, to
14 fill cybersecurity positions.
15 SEC. 4. FEDERAL CYBER SCHOLARSHIP-FOR-SERVICE PRO-

16 GRAM.

17 Section 302 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act

18 of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 7442) is amended
19 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the
20 following: Not less than 5 percent of scholarships
21 provided under this section shall be provided to eligi-
22 ble students who are pursuing an associates degree
23 in a cybersecurity field without the intent of trans-
24 ferring to a bachelors degree program and either
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1 have a bachelors degree already or are veterans of
2 the Armed Forces.;
3 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the
4 following: In the case of a scholarship recipient who
5 is pursuing a doctoral or masters degree, such
6 agreement may include (if determined appropriate
7 on a case-by-case basis by the Director of the Na-
8 tional Science Foundation) an agreement for the re-
9 cipient to work at an institution of higher education
10 or for a local educational agency teaching cybersecu-
11 rity skills for a period equal to the length of the
12 scholarship following receipt of such degree.;
13 (3) in subsection (f)
14 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert-
15 ing the following:
16 (3) have demonstrated a high level of com-
17 petency in relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities,
18 as described in the national cybersecurity awareness
19 and education program under section 401;; and
20 (B) by striking paragraph (4) and insert-
21 ing the following:
22 (4) be a student in an eligible degree program
23 at a qualified institution of higher education, as de-
24 termined by the Director of the National Science
25 Foundation, who is
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1 (A) a full-time student; or
2 (B) a student who is enrolled for study
3 leading to a degree on a less than full-time
4 basis but not less than half-time basis; and;
5 (4) by striking subsection (m) and inserting the
6 following:
7 (m) EVALUATION AND REPORT.
8 (1) IN GENERAL.The Director of the Na-
9 tional Science Foundation shall evaluate and make
10 public, in a manner that protects the personally
11 identifiable information of scholarship recipients, in-
12 formation on the success of recruiting individuals for
13 scholarships under this section and on hiring and re-
14 taining those individuals in the public sector work-
15 force, including on
16 (A) placement rates;
17 (B) where students are placed;
18 (C) student salary ranges for students
19 not released from obligations under this section;
20 (D) how long after graduation they are
21 placed;
22 (E) how long they stay in the positions
23 they enter upon graduation;
24 (F) how many students are released from
25 obligations; and
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1 (G) what (if any) remedial training needs
2 are required.
3 (2) REGULAR REPORTS.The Director of the
4 National Science Foundation shall submit reports to
5 Congress under paragraph (1) not less often than
6 once every 5 years.; and
7 (5) by adding at the end the following:
8 (n) RESOURCES.The Director of the National
9 Science Foundation shall work with the Director of the
10 Office of Personnel Management to provide adequate re-
11 sources to the CyberCorps community in the form of an
12 online resource center, where all other relevant websites
13 will be consolidated or eliminated, if possible. To the ex-
14 tent applicable, such websites shall
15 (1) present up-to-date, accurate information
16 about existing scholarship programs and job oppor-
17 tunities;
18 (2) present a modernized view of cybersecurity
19 careers;
20 (3) improve user friendliness; and
21 (4) allow prospective job applicants to search
22 positions by State, salary, and title.
23 (o) ADVERTISEMENTS.The Director of the Na-
24 tional Science Foundation shall work with the Director of
25 the Office of Personnel Management and State, local, and
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1 tribal agencies to advertise cybersecurity positions to
2 scholarship recipients under this section, such as by
3 hosting, in coordination with such Office and agencies, a
4 virtual job fair for scholarship recipients.
5 (p) CYBERSECURITY AT KINDERGARTEN THROUGH
6 GRADE 12 LEVEL.The Director of the National Science
7 Foundation, in coordination with other Federal agencies
8 as necessary, shall carry out a program to grow and im-
9 prove cybersecurity education at the kindergarten through
10 grade 12 level that
11 (1) increases interest in cybersecurity careers;
12 (2) helps students practice correct and safe
13 online behavior and understand the foundational
14 principles of cybersecurity; and
15 (3) improves teaching methods for delivering
16 cybersecurity content for kindergarten through
17 grade 12 computer science curricula.
18 (q) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION.
19 Due to the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals to
20 protect the Nations critical infrastructure, the Director
21 of the National Science Foundation may
22 (1) grant exceptions to students for fulfilling
23 post-award employment obligations under this sec-
24 tion (on a case-by-case basis and in coordination
25 with other Federal agencies) who agree to work in
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1 a critical infrastructure mission at a Federal Gov-
2 ernment corporation or a State, local, or tribal gov-
3 ernment-affiliated asset, system, or network that is
4 considered to be part of a critical infrastructure sec-
5 tor as described in Presidential Policy Directive-21,
6 issued February 12, 2013 (related to critical infra-
7 structure security and resilience), or any successor;
8 and
9 (2) develop a pilot program to enhance critical
10 infrastructure protection training for students pur-
11 suing careers in cybersecurity.
12 (r) STUDY.The Director of the National Science
13 Foundation, in coordination with the Director of the Of-
14 fice of Personnel Management, shall assess the potential
15 benefits and feasibility of granting scholarship awards
16 under this section to students who do not possess a bach-
17 elors degree to pursue an associates degree or an indus-
18 try-recognized credential in a cybersecurity field..